“Attica Locke’s Bluebird, Bluebird reads like a blues song to East Texas with all its troubles over property, race, and love. Taut where it has to be to keep a murder investigation on its toes, this novel is also languid when you need to understand just what would keep a black woman or man in a place where so much troubled history lies. This novel marks Love’s (and Hatred’s) comings and goings amongst black and white, and all the shades between. Locke’s small town murder investigation reveals what lies at the heart of America’s confusion over race.” —Walter Mosley, author of Down the River unto the Sea

“With Bluebird, Bluebird Attica Locke brings freshness and vitality to a beloved form. Her storytelling touch is just so strong! From the first beautifully done scene until the finale, this is a very propulsive novel concerning old deeds that keep influencing the present, injustice and courage—a powerful and dramatic look at contemporary black life in rural America.” —Daniel Woodrell, author of The Maid’s Version

“Attica Locke knows how to tell a tale, her voice so direct and crisp that the dust from the side of Highway 59 will settle on your hands as you hold Bluebird, Bluebird. Nothing comes easy in Shelby County, where the lines between right and wrong blur a little more with each heartfelt page, and love and pain live together as one under the big Texas sun.” —Michael Farris Smith, author of Desperation Road and Rivers

“Attica Locke is a must-read author who writes with power, grace, and heart, and Bluebird, Bluebird is a remarkable achievement. This is a rare novel that thrills, educates, and inspires all at once. Don’t miss it.” —Michael Koryta, author of Rise the Dark

“Attica Locke knows Texas, a place that has shaped both her characters and her life. Locke’s new book, Bluebird, Bluebird, is evidence of her deep knowledge and love of her community and a deep talent for writing hype thrillers that also manage to be timely, relevant and keenly insightful.” –Joe Ide, author of IQ and Righteous

“Bluebird, Bluebird has the impeccable pacing, memorable characters, and deepening sense of mystery and dread we expect in the finest noir thrillers. But this novel is so much more. Darren Mathews, the black Texas Ranger at the story’s center, is a man caught up in the complex and at times contradictory loyalties of geography, profession, race, and family. He is a brilliantly realized character and in his refusal to settle for easy answers, he leads himself and the reader toward the most elemental of contradictions: the inextricable link between hate and love. Attica Locke has written a marvelous novel.” —Ron Rash, author of The Risen

Join me as a I spend an evening interviewing one of my mentors, Dennis Lehane, about the publication of his latest novel, at the Writers’ Guild Theater in Los Angeles, May 23rd 7:30 pm. Buy tickets here

I could not be more honored to share the news that “Pleasantville” has won the 2016 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. I’ll be in Washington, D.C. on September 22nd to receive the award at a ceremony at the Library of Congress as a part of the National Book Festival.